Page 49 - World of Animals - Issue #36

The burrowers

Sleeping chamber Spoil heap
Badgers keep their Badgers pile up excavated
sleeping chambers earth outside their holes.
immaculately clean, Discarded bedding and
replacing their bedding badger hairs can usually be
with fresh vegetation on found amongst the dirt.
dry nights. Used bedding
is deposited outside on
the spoil heap.

Paths
Entrance An active sett will be
Setts typically contain multiple surrounded by paths, which
entrance holes. Some are used show where generations of
on a regular basis, while others badgers have followed the same
may have fallen into disuse. route to and from the burrow.

How to
identify a
badger’s sett

Badger setts vary in terms
of size and number of
entrances, with some
containing more than 50
entrance holes.
Holes are usually no
more than 30cm (12in) in
diameter, broader than
they are tall, and have a
characteristic sideways ‘D’
shaped opening.
Look out for broad paths
leading to the holes, with
fresh bedding stored outside
during winter and a latrine
site nearby.

Setts can be many
decades old, with
badger families
sharing the
same burrow for
generations
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